More Paris, Just for Fun!

I love Notre Dame's gargoyles; they each have their own personalities.



Pastries, acquired by brother-in-law Nathan, on my last night in Paris.




We found this cool sculpture in the Left Bank. The kids climbed on and slid down it for a half hour.



Leah, right after we told the kids we were going to EuroDisney the next day. This is such a moment of spastic joy. I adore this picture. It is true, unadulterated excitement.


Right after we told the kiddos of our impending trip to Disney, they started packing. Susannah had made her kids adorable backpacks for Paris out of Japanese fabric. Leah felt left out, so Lizzy, in true Lizzy fashion, fashioned this one for Leah out of a plastic bag. It's actually pretty awesome. The front has some twine lashed so that she can adjust the size and tightness as needed. I, unfortunately had to talk Leah out of taking it. The gaping hole at the top was a little less than ideal.



I tried to take a pic of the Eiffel Tower through the windshield. I love the effect I accidentally captured with rain and all.



The lovely Lazeras Family; my dad was involved with Josie's (the mother on far right) baptism back in the early 60s in Paris. We've remained good friends and had a delicious dinner at Florine and William's (their married daughter and her husband, with 3 children) home outside of Paris. I lived with the Lazeras family for 6 weeks after I graduated from high school.



Leah in contemplation at Gare de L'est



I made several TO-DO lists on the plane ride home.


And blew a few bubbles.

My Sweet Esther is 6!!

This is the smile I know and love. She's a happy girl and I can't believe 6 years have already gone by----wait a second, that's kind of a lie. It seems like I've never been without my Esther.


Peekaboo!


Contemplating 6-ness on the deck. She got to bring a treat to her class (had to be store-bought), so she opted for Krispy Kremes in the shape of snowmen. The class was thrilled!


Esther trying out her new cruiser. Her 6 shirt was a last-minute birthday present. I bought the cool 6 in NYC's garment district. Forgot I had it. Found a newish turtleneck and Fabri-Tacked it on about 5 minutes before we left for school.



These girls love each other!



Licking frosting off candles and double dipping. Yikes!



My happy, spastic, joyful, energizing, lovable, lovable Esther.

From Paris With Love

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Leah and I returned from a whirlwind, amazing, bonding trip to Paris. It was plain fabulous. We saw a few sights, but mostly focused on being there. The ambiance, walking, walking, walking, spending time with her cousins, and even a trip to EuroDisney (this wouldn't have happened, except we know people who know people who work there, and got free tix.....). I loved being one-on-one with Bluebird; it was amazing how fun it was----little to no discipline issues, lots of togetherness, inside jokes, shared experience. We both loved it.

I was so worried before I left about leaving Esther and Phoebe. I missed them at times, but whenever I missed them a little too much, I seemed to see something tiny they would love and bought it for them. These were tiny things to tide me over, i.e. a binkie with a cat on it for Phoebe; Dora cookies with chocolate for Esther.....little nothings. But let me tell you: Phoebe has delighted in her kitty cat binky, and Esther has taken little packets of Dora biscuits to school for her lunch with pride and thanksgiving.

I'm hoping these trips will become more frequent with each of my girls, and with my Jonnie, too.
Here's to frequent flier miles, husbands who are willing to take care of kids, and a sister who (temporarily) lives in one of the greatest cities of the world!

Ooh La La!

Just wanted to say that I'm blogging from PARIS!! Thanks to Jonnie, Leah Bluette and I are cozying it up in Paris with my sister, her husband, and 4 kids. We had a busy day in the Rive Gauche (left bank) --- highlights included Jardin du Luxembourg, where the kids had the run of the cool playground toys, fun shops, great pastries at Poulain and amazing macaroons (passion fruit with milk chocolate---heck yes!) at Pierre Hermes. I'm taking some fun pictures with my new Nikon d3100, but won't be posting them till I get home.

Until then, you can bask in the knowledge that I'm going to be eating some amazing street cart falafel in a few minutes......and I've had a few too many pastries. When in Paris, ....

Back on Sunday. Will update soon.

And Just a Few More...

Schutz gals by Lindy Lou

This summer, Lindy Lou graced Provo for 6 weeks. Oh, it was a happy 6 weeks indeed. Lots of 7 Peaks with kiddos, 44 oz-ers, cupcakes, photo shoots, projects, borg togetherness....and to think she moved from here (a street away, essentially) just 2 months before we came. The Gods must be crazy.

Anyway, Lindy wanted/offered to photograph me and my girls. With an emphasis on my girls. Since she's a fab photog, we totally obliged. Just thought I'd post some of the results, and let you know that she's going to start taking pictures for others, too. Catch: she lives in Georgia. BUT, she does come to the UT for visits. Here's a linkety to the photo section of her blog.

I finally got some of these beauties printed. And hopefully, I'll get to framing them tomorrow. Anyway, on with the show.

NYC On My Mind

Top of the Rock, looking downtown.


The morning we arrived, in Central Park. Hazy head from an hour sleep on the red eye. But, oh! The Park! I adore Central Park. Probably one of the coolest places EVER.



Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie at Bubby's in Tribeca. Chocolate ganache on bottom, peanut butter mousse/goodness on top. Weight Watchers, here I come! (seriously)



From the Brooklyn Bridge. Sidenote: Jon and I came here 3 months before we were married. We went to Barge Music in Brooklyn and read the lines from Whitman's poem, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" that are engraved into the railing overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge. Later, when we designed our wedding rings, Jon had "Drench with your splendor me" (from the poem) engraved inside my ring. I chose a line from Neruda for his, "My dove, my globe." But anyway, this is a happy spot for us. Almost 12 years....



Jon with the famous Dada Duchamp Bicycle Wheel at the MOMA. A highlight of the trip.



2 weeks ago, I came home from an errand. Jonnie greeted me by saying, "I booked us tickets to NYC for the weekend after next, and tickets for you and Leah to Paris in November." Well hello to you, too! Backstory: Jon and I have never flown anywhere together for a getaway sans children. Why? Lots of factors, but the number one factor? MY ANXIETY! I have been worried for all these (8) years about both of us getting on a plane without our kids and the plane going down. But this time he sprung it on me, and NYC? I knew I had to overcome my fears.

The biggest factor was childcare. Turns out my parents were busy this last weekend (the weekend we originally planned the trip for). So, in a quick turnaround, we realized they were free that very weekend, like 3 days later. So we changed our tickets, got a hotel, and jumped on a red-eye before I could even start freaking out about it. (I must add that we decided we must make a WILL of sorts before the trip. I really didn't like writing out who would care for our children "should we be incapacitated or killed." But I took a deep breath and did it anyway. For the sake of the children.)

And guess what? We had the time of our lives. An itinerary that was the perfect mix of sites, food, shopping, togetherness, alone time, sleep, treats, history, ideas, discussions, fun. We walked our feet off, missed our flight home, gained a few pounds (hopefully offset a wee bit by the walking!), and reconnected. I'm posting some pics here, but will soon detail our trip itinerary on darlyblog. For now, enjoy the pics.

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Winners announced tomorrow!

Pics by the fab Lindy Lou

This summer afforded a few delights mixed in with the insanity that happens when your husband studies 24/7 for the Bar Exam. One highlight: a 5-week visit from Lindy Lou, Anders, and Will Will. She's a soul-sister, a confidante, a positively delightful friend, and an amazingly talented photographer . . . (and lots of other things, too). She volunteered to snap some photos of my and my girls on a mid-summer night's eve at her mom's Provo home. My girls were delighted to take part, and I'm pleased as punch with the results.

Thanks, Lou. We love you. And miss you to pieces.

The Neverending Fourth of July

Not that we don't love the holiday, but since it fell on a Sunday this year, Provo celebrated for 3 FULL days. Aye, Aye, Aye. We had lots of fun cousin time, play time, fireworks, parade, more fireworks, dinner, more dinner, desserts (man, I love Ina Garten and her flag cake---but word to the wise: the frosting calls for 4 cubes of butter AND 3 blocks of cream cheese. Really? So I used 2 cubes of butter and 2 blocks of cream cheese, and frosted the cake and the batch of cupcakes. That's more like it.) It was as delicious as it was pretty.

Dia de los Padres

Jon inspecting his Father's Day goodies. The See's Chocolates were gone within 48 hours!
This French toast was pretty darn tasty. Used Ina's brioche french toast recipe (but since I checked 3+ stores in Utah County and made a few calls in search of brioche to not avail, I used the big fat Texas Toast from Macy's. It was actually sufficient.) with orange zest....and then I got creative and sauteed sliced almonds and bananas in butter. YUM!

Here we are...

I have gone through tons of spray paint since we moved in. (Note the mirrors). I love the colors of Esther and Phoebe's bedroom. I am eternally drawn to saturated brights. I sometimes wish I could be more subdued. Maybe next house, which might mean maybe never.



Happy gals on the top bunk.....a little play place, since no one sleeps there right now.

More of Us . . . .

From top to bottom: Phoeberoni-and-what-not chilling, Leah with a "helicopter" on her nose, a happy Giz playing Polly Pockets, a happy me with a new short haircut (why do I ever grow it out?), and Leah's birthday party cupcake. I don't think we can fit 9 candles next year. We'll have to go for cake or get smaller candles.

The Peonies and the Wall

I wanted to drink in these peonies! Have you ever seen such magnificence? Yes, I speak in the superlative most of the time, but these are worthy of their ranking. I told Leah she could pick out some flowers for her baptism while we were at Costco. And then I saw the peonies and told her that she had to pick these. How's that for agency?

I had to take pictures because they looked so amazing against my wall (which is actually more red and a bit brighter than in this picture). The colors together were that crazy kind of dissonance/harmony where the two notes are kind of too close together to be just right, but they actually sound better that way because of the tension. Eye candy. Can't wait for next spring.

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

Long time passing . . . . Leah Bluette turned 8 in May. What the? She was baptized the first Saturday in June and was the picture of darlingness. It was a fabulous day--both sets of grandparents were able to attend (thanks for traveling Jane and Bill), as well as oodles of aunts and uncles and cousins. My talented and amazing mom sewed her dress for her----from a vintage pattern. The dotted Swiss with the satin sash were the perfecto combo. We modeled that part of it after, "girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes." But, Leah chose more of a turquoise-y blue. And that suits her just fine.